..Winter to be felt through early Monday Morning followed by heavy rain and strong winds with isolated thunderstorms for Patriots Day/Marathon Monday. This is a combined Storm & Boston Marathon Weather Coordination Message and these will continue to be combined through potentially Monday Morning..
..A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect through 8 AM Monday for Franklin, Western Hampshire, Western Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts for up to 0.20″ radial ice accumulations and result in slippery road conditions. If 0.20″ or more of icing occurs, isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages may develop..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect through 2 AM Monday Morning for Central and Southeast Middlesex, Essex, and Southern Worcester Counties of Massachusetts for light icing and accumulations up to 0.10″ inches and slippery road conditions..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect through 2 AM Monday Morning for Northern Connecticut, Eastern Hampden and Eastern Hampshire Counties of Massachusetts for up to 0.10″ radial ice and slippery road conditions..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect through 2 AM Monday Morning for Northwest Providence and Western Kent Counties of Rhode Island for a trace of radial ice accumulation and slippery road conditions..
..Patriots Day/Marathon Monday will have widespread rainfall with the heaviest rainfall during the late morning to early evening timeframe. Strong wind gusts of 30-45 MPH are possible across interior Southern New England with wind gusts of 45-50 MPH possible in Southeast New England. Isolated thunderstorms and lightning are also possible. This is detailed in the Boston Marathon Weather portion of this coordination message. Also, a coastal flood advisory is now in effect for Eastern Essex County Massachusetts from 10 AM-2 PM for Eastern Essex County for minor flooding of coastal shore roads at the time of high tide cycle..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the icing conditions Sunday into early Monday Morning. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Boston/Norton will commence at 600 AM Monday for the storm on Marathon Monday lasting through 600 PM Monday Evening..

The light icing conditions for late tonight through early Monday Morning are covered in the headlines of this coordination message. SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the icing conditions Sunday into early Monday Morning. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton Winter Weather Advisory Statement:

The second part of this message is a special announcement – Boston Marathon Weather Coordination Message as issued in prior years:

While this may be a bit off topic for some SKYWARN Spotters, Amateur Radio Operators and Red Cross volunteers, many of which are SKYWARN Spotters, will be involved in the Boston Marathon on MondayApril 16th. To reach out to the highest level of Amateur Radio Operators involved in the event, this coordination message is being sent out to the SKYWARN email list and posted to the various Amateur Radio lists. We appreciate everyone’s patience with this message. This is a joint message between the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)-SKYWARN program at NWS Boston/Norton and Eastern Massachusetts ARES. Due to the storm conditions and the fact some level of SKYWARN Activation will occur, messages will occur through at least Sunday Evening on the storm event.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES members not participating in the Boston Marathon are requested to be on standby for marathon activities on MondayApril 16th from 6 AM-7 PM for any significant issues outside of the Boston Marathon that may require Amateur Radio Emergency Communications support and for any unexpected issues on the Boston Marathon route. With over 280 Amateur Radio Operators staffing the Boston Marathon route, the start line and the finish line, if an issue arises needing Amateur Radio support outside of the Marathon route or an unexpected issue arises in marathon operations, it is important that any ARES members not involved in the marathon can help with any response that is required. The Amateur Radio Station at the National Weather Service in Boston/Norton, WX1BOX, will be active on MondayApril 16th for the Boston Marathon to provide weather support to the Amateur Radio community participating in the marathon and to gather any weather reports of significance during the marathon. This station will also be used to coordinate any ARES response to any significant incidents regarding Amateur Radio support outside of the marathon zone including any incidents that need to be provided to the State EOC for situational awareness information.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) at the SEOC (State Emergency Operations Center) will be active for the Boston Marathon. Amateur Radio Operators will be at the SEOC to support Amateur Radio communications and will be on the air under call sign, WC1MA, while many agencies will be there performing primary operations for the marathon.

The weather outlook is definitely less than ideal for volunteers and is also not ideal for runners though not as significant as a warm weather event would be for the runners. Rain will be widespread across the marathon route in the morning hours and the heaviest rain is expected in the late morning through early evening. This may result some poor and drainage street flooding in the region. Rainfall will be in a 1-2″ range with isolated higher amounts to 2.5″ possible. Strong winds are also possible with wind gusts in the 30-45 MPH range in the interior with the highest gusts as you get closer to the Metro Boston areas. Isolated higher wind gusts are possible in hilly interior areas and potentially in East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This could result in isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages. An isolated thunderstorm or two with attendant lightning risk is also possible but exact locations and whether they would occur on the marathon route are difficult to determine. It is notable that thundersleet were reported in a few areas Sunday Evening in Western Massachusetts. All runners, volunteers and spectators should monitor future weather forecasts and should prepare accordingly for these conditions. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Boston/Norton will commence at 600 AM Monday for the storm on Marathon Monday lasting through 600 PM Monday Evening. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton Coastal Flood Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook, Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook and snow and ice maps:

From a SKYWARN perspective, the 146.64-Waltham Repeater and 145.23-Boston Repeater are being utilized for Marathon operations. From an ARES perspective, the Minutemen Repeater Association Repeater Network is being utilized for marathon operations. Please review the SKYWARN Frequency listing for your closest alternate repeater from a SKYWARN or ARES perspective.http://www.wx1box.org/node/37

For Amateur Radio, Red Cross and all other volunteers along the route, it is recommended that you dress in layers for this event so that you can put on or take off clothes as needed for comfort. Rain gear is a must either with a clear poncho or a rain coat where you can still display appropriate credentials outside of the raincoat. Be sure to drink liquids and eat properly during the event and that you are self-sufficient so that you can be of full help to the function and not distract everyone from the main purpose of supporting the runners by having a health issue on your end that can be avoided. For volunteers, the BAA has sent around via email weather safety tips and suggestions on clothing and other safety tips.

Another coordination message will be posted Monday Morning if time allows and a significant upgrade to the situation occurs otherwise this will be the last Storm and Boston Marathon weather coordination message for this event. We appreciate everyone’s support in this event and hope those that volunteer enjoy themselves and feel the self-satisfaction of supporting this historic event and those that are monitoring the Marathon or events outside of the Marathon realize that the monitoring is an important function as well and is a testament to being able to scale other incidents beyond the marathon if required. Thanks to all for their support!

Hello to all… The following is the 2019 NWS Boston/Norton SKYWARN Training Class Schedule for the spring season. Please distribute widely to anyone interested in becoming a SKYWARN Spotter! Additional SKYWARN Training classes are in planning. This includes a class in the Rowe/Charlemont, Mass area, Granby/Hartland, CT area, Western Hampshire County Massachusetts, Eastern Franklin County […]

Hello to all… ..Storm system to bring a wintry mix to portions of Southern New England Sunday Morning into Sunday Early Afternoon.. ..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 5 AM to 2 PM Sunday for Northern Connecticut, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts and Northwest Providence County Rhode […]

Hello to all… ..Moderate to Major Snowstorm to affect Southern New England tonight through Monday Morning. Latest Models have increased snowfall amounts for much of the area but there does remain uncertainty in the Southeast coastal areas where sleet and/or rain could hold down amounts. If higher snow amounts are realized in interior central and […]

Hello to all… ..One storm departs the region and another storm will affect the region with a more significant snowfall except for portions of Southeast New England which will see snow to ice to rain.. ..A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Sunday Evening through Monday Morning for Northern Connecticut, North-Central Rhode Island and […]

Hello to all… ..Coastal storm system to bring heavy accumulating wet snow storm to portions of Southern New England late tonight into early Saturday Evening. Confidence in storm solution lower than normal at this time range due to varying model solutions.. ..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect from 1 AM to 7 PM […]

Hello to all… ..Plowable snowfall expected starting late Wednesday Afternoon into early Thursday Morning in Southern New England and now looks to affect all of Southern New England.. ..A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect from 5 PM Wednesday Evening to 7 AM Thursday Morning for Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden Counties of Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut […]

Hello to all… ..Bitter cold wind chills in Western Massachusetts will occur tonight followed by plowable snowfall expected Wednesday Night into Thursday Morning in Southern New England particularly in Western Massachusetts and then along and south of the Mass Pike.. ..A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect from Midnight to 8 AM Wednesday for Franklin, […]

Hello to all… ..Strong Winds will occur over the course of the day today but not to the strength we had around the region on Monday. These winds, however, may slow power restoration efforts for those that have lost power.. ..A Wind Advisory is in effect through 5 PM Tuesday Afternoon for the entire NWS […]